LDS Position Ever Held: Primary

42 LDS sex abuse cases found

Primary teachers/leaders

LDS position: Primary

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- Noel Anderson (1996 – ) was an LDS church primary teacher in McKinney, Texas; sentenced in 2019 in Texas to 50 years in prison for molesting children
- Convicted: 2019,
- Positions: Missionary, Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- View report »
- Emily Anderson was a Mormon Primary president in the New Braunfels, Texas area; accused of child sexual abuse; convicted
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- View report »
- Dale Andreason (1952 – ) was a Mormon church member in Magna, Utah; pleaded guilty in 2023 to three counts of AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD (a 1st Degree Felony) and was sentenced to six years to life in prison
- Convicted: 2023,
- Positions: Primary, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty,
- Alleged church actions: unknown,
- View report »
- Brandon Bednarz (1982 – ) was an LDS church member in Kansas; convicted of sexual abuse of a minor
- Positions: Primary, Scout leader, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- View report »
- Nelson Bogero (1953 – ) was an LDS church member and Primary children's teacher in Cordoba, Argentina; accused in 2017 of sexual abuse of two girls who were in his Primary class; a local LDS leader allegedly knew about the abuse but failed to report to police; in August 2024, Bogero was sentenced to 16 years in prison
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted: 2024,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Police investigation, Prison,
- View report »
- Paul Bryant (1968 – 2024) was an HOA president and former Mormon primary teacher in Lehi, Utah; was a branch president during an LDS mission to Argentina in the 1980s; in 2016, pleaded guilty to three first-degree felony counts of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced to prison; in 2023, pleaded not guilty to failure to register as sex offender; died by suicide in December 2024
- Convicted: 2016,
- Positions: Branch president, Missionary, Other leader, Primary, Scout leader, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Probation, Registered sex offender,
- View report »
- Buckland Darrell (1979 – ) was a former LDS Primary teacher in Redmond, Washington; accused of molesting young boys in sacrament meeting and at their homes; charged with first-degree felony child molestation in 2022-23 (5 victims); admitted to sexually abusing around 6 to 8 boys; pleaded guilty; sentenced in 2024 to at least 8 years in prison; faced two additional counts in March 2025 after two more victims came forward
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted: 2024,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- Alleged church actions: Ward official accused of failure to report, Ward official accused of pressuring victim not to seek accountability,
- View report »
- David Dawson was an LDS church member and primary teacher in Logan, Utah; accused of child sexual abuse; convicted
- Positions: Elders quorum president/counselor, Primary, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Unknown result,
- View report »
- Joseph Dunlop (1983 – ) was a Mormon church member and Primary teacher in South Jordan, Utah; accused in 2024 of attempting to meet a person he thought was a 9-year-old girl to sexually abuse her; pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and solicitation to commit sodomy on a child, both first-degree felonies; sentenced in 2024 to five years to life in prison
- Convicted: 2024,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Ongoing, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- View report »
- Gerald Elison (1930 – 2019) was an LDS church member and junior high school drama teacher in Orem, Utah; accused in 2014 in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy student in the early 1980s; died in 2019
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, Primary, Stake high council,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Never charged, Not convicted,
- Civil case(s): Dismissed,
- View report »
- Miguel Estudillo (1969 – ) was an LDS primary teacher in Baker City, Oregon; arrested for crimes related to child sexual abuse; sentenced to prison
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- View report »
- David Farley (1958 – ) was a former doctor in West Linn, Oregon; accused of sexually abusing more than 200 patients over a span of many years, during some of which Farley was an LDS stake high council member; in 2024, the city of West Linn, Oregon released a report about the way its police department investigated Farley; in October 2025, a grand jury indicted him on 11 felony sexual assault charges
- Alleged failure to report
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, Primary, Stake high council, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Not convicted, Ongoing,
- Civil case(s): Ongoing,
- Alleged church actions: Unknown church action,
- View report »
- Thomas Gibbons (1952 – ) was an LDS church member in Tennessee and Layton, Utah; worked as a police officer; pleaded guilty to two felony charges of forcible sex abuse; sentenced in 2000 in Utah to prison
- Convicted: 2000,
- Positions: Ministering/home teacher, Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- View report »
- John Gojkovich was a Mormon church member in Illinois; accused of sexual abuse; convicted
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- View report »
- Alan Grant (1959 – ) was an LDS church member and primary teacher in Utah; found guilty of child sexual abuse; sentenced in August 1998 to two months in jail
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail,
- View report »
- Russell Harbin (1974 – ) was a Mormon church member in Polson, Montana; convicted of sexual intercourse without consent with an 11-year-old child; the alleged abuse lasted from 2022 to 2024; he allegedly was assigned to be a Primary teacher sometime after the abuse began; sentenced in 2025 to 40 years in prison; the judge suspended 20 years of the 40-year term
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted: 2025,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- Alleged church actions: Ward official accused of failure to report,
- View report »
- Michael Holt (1980 – ) was a Mormon church member; accused of sexual abuse; convicted in 2024 in Utah of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor; sentenced to five years to life in prison
- Positions: Elders quorum president/counselor, Missionary, Primary, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison,
- View report »
- Jordan Jolley (1987 – ) was an LDS church member in Syracuse, Utah; convicted of voyeurism in January 2024
- Convicted: 2024,
- Positions: Primary, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- View report »
- Timothy Kimball (1979 – 2023) was an LDS church member in San Antonio, Texas; charged in 2022 with child sexual abuse; died by suicide in June 2023 while awaiting indictment
- Positions: Missionary, Other leader, Primary, scouts, Temple worker, Young men’s council, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Died awaiting trial, Not convicted, Suicide,
- View report »
- Marion Klingler (1944 – ) was an LDS church member in California; convicted of sexual abuse; now lives in Springville Utah as registered sex offender
- Positions: Primary, Scout leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Registered sex offender,
- View report »
- Justin Knight (1983 – ) was a Mormon church member in Tucson, Arizona; in 2023, pled guilty to one third-degree count of SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR and one fourth-degree felony charge of Aggravated Taking Id Of Another Person Or Entity; sentenced to prison; registered sex offender as of Oct. 2025
- Convicted: 2023,
- Positions: Primary, Scout leader, Ward executive secretary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- View report »
- James Knudsen (1980 – ) was a Mormon church member in Nampa, Idaho; pleaded guilty in 2015 of sexual abuse of a child under 16
- Convicted: 2015,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Registered sex offender, Released,
- View report »
- Kent Langston (1951 – ) was a Mormon church member and former LDS Primary teacher in Saratoga Springs, Utah; charged on December 9, 2025 with several first-degree felonies related to child sexual abuse; accused of abusing at least eight children and one disabled adult
- Positions: Missionary, Primary, Ward executive secretary,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing, Police investigation,
- Alleged church actions: Unknown church action,
- View report »
- Kurt Leppert (1958 – ) was a former LDS church primary teacher in Spokane Valley, Washington; found guilty in 2018 by a jury of seven counts of sexually abusing 3 children between the ages of 8 and 12; sentenced in 2018 to 21 years and 4 months in prison
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial, Prison,
- View report »
- Hali Lunt (1981 – ) was a Mormon church member in Layton, Utah; in January 2026, Lunt was charged with unlawful kissing of a minor, a class A misdemeanor; at the time of the alleged crime, Lunt was the Primary president in the Weaver Lane Ward, Layton Utah Shoreline Stake
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
- Alleged church actions: Released from church position,
- View report »
- Charles Merrell (1977 – ) was a Mormon church member in Wyoming; was reportedly an LDS Primary teacher as of approximately 2019; criminally charged in the 2020s with multiple felonies related to child sexual abuse; found guilty by a jury in 2025 of two third-degree felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor
- Convicted: 2025,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial, Prison,
- Alleged church actions: Unknown church action,
- View report »
- John Midgett (1962 – ) was a Mormon Sunday school teacher in the San Diego area, California; also was a Navy petty officer first class; accused of 43 felony counts of child molestation for allegedly sexually abusing eight girls, ages 5 to 10, in his Sunday school class; pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison; as of 2024, lives in Bountiful, Utah as a registered sex offender
- Convicted: 1992,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- View report »
- Aaron Montoya (1972 – ) was a Mormon children's Primary teacher and law enforcement officer in Utah; found guilty in 2005 of sexually abusing children during LDS church meetings and at his home; later pleaded guilty in another case; in all, at least nine victims came forward; sentenced to prison in 2005; as of March 2025, is out of prison on parole and lives in Woods Cross, Utah as a registered sex offender
- Convicted: 2005,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Found guilty, Jury trial, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison, Registered sex offender, Released,
- Alleged church actions: Counseling/therapy for victim,
- View report »
- Sara Moore was a Mormon church member in St. Cloud, Florida; accused of sexual abuse
- Positions: Primary, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Unknown result,
- View report »
- Christopher Nuttall (1981 – ) was an LDS church member in Mesa, Arizona; arrested in an FBI sting operation; convicted in 2019 of LURE MINOR FOR SEX EXPLOIT and ATTEMPT TO COMMIT - SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH MINOR
- Convicted: 2019,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty,
- View report »
- DeRon Olsen (1944 – ) was a former Mormon bishop and stake presidency counselor in Spokane, Washington; in 2024, pleaded guilty to one felony count of child molestation and one felony count of child rape; sentenced to prison
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted: 2024,
- Positions: Bishop, Nursery, Primary, Stake presidency counselor, Sunday school, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- View report »
- Kent Prestwich (1977 – ) was an LDS church member and nursery leader (Primary teacher/worker) in Lewiston, Utah; arrested in 2023 for allegedly downloading child sexual abuse material (CSAM) for 15 years "because it aroused him;" pleaded guilty to two 2nd degree felony counts of child sexual exploitation; January 2024: sentenced to two concurrent terms of one to 15 years in prison, with credit for 91 says served
- Convicted: 2023,
- Positions: Nursery, Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Prison,
- View report »
- Jeffrey Rock (1955 – ) was a former Mormon branch president and U.S. State Department employee; lived in California, Utah, Fiji and Thailand; pleaded guilty in 2025 to three charges of sexual battery; sentenced in February 2026 in Utah to 18 months in jail; the Mormon church knew about alleged child sex abuse but failed multiple times over years to alert civil authorities, according to Rock’s relatives
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted: 2025,
- Positions: Bishopric counselor, Branch president, Elders quorum president/counselor, Nursery, Primary, Scout leader, Stake high council, temple liaison, Youth leader,
- Criminal case(s): Admitted guilt, Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty,
- Alleged church actions: Church officials accused of allowing interaction with children after notice of wrongdoing, Counseling/therapy for victim, Disfellowshipped, High-level official accused of failure to report, Officials allegedly gave the accused a church duty after admission of wrongdoing, Ward official accused of failure to report,
- View report »
- Jonathan Sanders (1993 – ) was a Mormon church member and dentist in Mesa, Arizona; accused in 2025 of crimes related to child sexual abuse
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
- View report »
- George Schliesser (1958 – ) was a Mormon church member, scout leader and Primary teacher in Utah; charged in 1990 with two counts of sodomy on a child and two counts of sex abuse on a child; in September 2021, was arrested after a third alleged attempt at voyeurism, the first two in 2020
- Positions: Primary, Scout leader,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Ongoing, Unknown result,
- View report »
- Sean Sund (1972 – ) was an LDS primary teacher in Utah; arrested in 2018 and accused of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl from his LDS ward during sleepovers at his home on multiple occasions; pleaded guilty in 2022 to second-degree felony sex abuse of a child and was sentenced to 361 days in jail; registered sex offender for life
- Convicted: 2022,
- Positions: Other leader, Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Registered sex offender,
- View report »
- Richard Swank was an LDS church member in California; accused of sexual abuse
- Positions: Primary, Ward executive secretary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted,
- Alleged church actions: Excommunicated,
- View report »
- Benjamin Turner (1959 – ) was a Mormon church member and LDS Primary teacher in Davis County, Utah; accused in the 2000s of child sexual abuse and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM); convicted on federal charges; sentenced to prison
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Prison, Probation, Registered sex offender,
- Alleged church actions: Unknown church action,
- View report »
- Adrian Villar (1958 – ) was an LDS church member in Spanish Fork, Utah; accused of sexually abusing an 8 year old and 11 year old separately
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
- View report »
- Ryan Whitaker (1953 – ) was an LDS church member and divorce lawyer in Vancouver, Washington; charged with sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in his Sunday School class during church meetings; convicted in 2013 and sentenced to prison; registered sex offender
- Alleged failure to report
- Convicted: 2013,
- Positions: Missionary, Primary, Sunday school,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Prison, Registered sex offender,
- View report »
- Michael Whitehead (1964 – ) was an LDS church member in Orem, Utah; convicted in 2004 of ENTICING A MINOR OVER THE INTERNET - Class A Misdemeanor
- Convicted: 2004,
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Jail, Plea deal, Probation,
- View report »
- Daniel Willard (1988 – ) was a Mormon church member in St. Charles, Missouri; pleaded guilty to Possession Of Child Pornography and Furnish Pornographic Material Or Attempt To Furnish To A Minor; registered sex offender
- Positions: Primary,
- Criminal case(s): Convicted, Plea deal, Pleaded guilty, Unknown result,
- Alleged church actions: Excommunicated,
- View report »

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